April 8, 2026 Meeting

The Butterfly Sleuth

with Neil Bjorklund

 7:15-9:00 p.m., presentation 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Main Hall, Hilyard Community Center, 2580 Hilyard St, Eugene (map)

How do you find butterfly species in a place where they’ve never been found before? You certainly can just stumble onto a butterfly in a surprising place—I’ve done so several times, leading to six new county records in Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, and Morrow counties. Or you can follow the trail of historic sightings of stray species and try to find them again, though I’ve had mixed results with that approach. However, to intentionally find something new in a place or county requires a different approach. It requires thinking like a sleuth: observing, pondering, deducing and deciding! Elementary, my dear butterfly friends! I will share stories of all these approaches to discovering species that haven’t been sighted in a county before, but we’ll zero in on the game I’ve come to call Butterfly Sleuthing. You’ll hear how I discovered California Hairstreak, Nevada Cloudywing, Northern Cloudywing, Shasta Blue, Volcano Blue, Pumice Blue, and Arrowhead Blue in our own Lane County-with lots of lovely photos, of course! Come join us for a fun evening, and don’t forget your deerstalker cap and magnifying glass! The game is afoot!